Larksong Grotto Nina

hoping for @Hosannah <3

Her paws thudded against the dirt covered ground, squashing any grass that was beginning to sprout out. She was no naturalist, she had no reason to believe that stepping on the grass deliberately would stunt it's growth-- therefore she continued on. 

Despite being somewhat cloudly, the day was hot and humid. Jhala's tongue lolled out, dripping saliva in the most ungraceful way you could imagine. Her eyes betrayed her otherwise gross and sweaty appearance, however, and they gleamed in the warm spring sun that managed to peak through the clouded sky. She was in no rush to do anything today, patrolling the borders was the only thing she cared about. Too hot to train, too exhausted to hunt-- walking and peeing would have to do.

she had stayed too long - strayed far from the influence of the rose wolves. yet there was opportunity here that she could not refuse. a chance to do good, to do more, and so hosannah lingered. yet with each passing hour she moved closer to the fringes of the pack; her doubts were many, and she longed to revisit the dark wood, and aaron, and even liri. hosannah was on her way then, abruptly, when she came upon the edge of the pack and a roaming guard. instantly she froze, lifting her head to peer over a ridge of stone; she sauntered closer and then gave pause again, sighting the stranger as she made her march and her mark, with a brief scrunch of her snout. how lurid she felt. how wrong, to watch this odd dance.

It was a natural thing, marking borders. Never before had Jhala ever questioned the history behind it or the actions to do it-- she simply did. It was expected of her when she was a soldier for her birth pack. It was expected of her at Porcupine Ridge. It was expected of her here, as the Grotto's Beta. She cared little about how she looked and therefore held no concerns for the act of border marking. She just did as she was expected.

After squatting another time, she realized she was being watched. Her head turned and she spotted a skinny, red woman hidden mostly behind a rock. Being less than concerned about offending the other, she stood tall with her tail raised. This was her place, this was her rank-- she needed to maintain it. "What?" she barked, her eyes narrowing.

hosannah's expression slackened when she heard the stranger's voice, and saw the flagging of her tail. no doubt this one was oblivious of her arrival, but she could not give her the benefit of the doubt. the raised tail implied they had power over her, but none had power — no corporeal, living entity — and had she the ability, hosannah would have raised her own tail to defend her position. instead she strode forward, confidant, leering, and stopped nearer to the guard.

you speak this way to your new leader? hm? it would take some getting used to, but hosannah could not let a single wolf look down upon her. she would force them to kneel before her, and before raas, even if it meant breaking their legs herself. but for now, all she had to do was play nice and pass the news. if this wolf refused her as the other had, then she would plot.

i am kesheph. reek has named me his partner in leadership. i suggest you humble yourself, girl.

As far as Jhala was concerned, she was not in the wrong. It was traditionally rude not only to watch someone piss, but judge them for it. It wasn't even like she was taking a wazz in the middle of the day without attempt to conceal herself-- very unladylike-- she was marking the borders. It was a job. Every pack member had to do it, that's how they stayed strong. 

This woman spoke like she was the leader-- which only confused the poor beta. Reek wouldn't elect a stranger as his alphess without talking to her first... right? Wasn't that part of her job? To advise? The fur along her spine bristled with frustration. Not directed specifically at the woman-- although her arrogant and rude responses were not helping-- but at Reek, for making a decision that left her so far out of the loop that she was left absolutely useless as a Beta. She swallowed a lump. It'd happen again. She'd fail again. She couldn't fail her alpha-- not again. 

But the more she thought about it, the more angry she got. She couldn't humble herself to this woman... she was not her alpha. Reek was.

"Kekshit?" she repeats, shaking her head. "That'sa odd name, your highness," she tells her, and lowers her chin to the ground in a sarcastic bow. When she raises, she looks the woman over. "I am Jhala, Reek's beta," she informs her, her tail waving behind her.

surprise wormed its way across the rugged girl's features in a way that thrilled the red woman. her words were swift and sharp, and while hosannah felt her short fur bristling, she chose not to take offense to the crude butchering of her false name; perhaps had it been her true name she would have cared. instead a grin spread across her long snout, and she tutted softly, feigning amusement.

jhala. she parroted glumly, the name heavily accented by hosannah's natural tone. she eyes the girl's raised tail with chagrin, but says nothing about it. hosannah is petite to the extreme and if this woman wishes to be challenging, if she refuses to yield unto the new alpha female, then there is nothing hosannah can really do about it. knowing this, she remains calm.

go, find you alpha, then. speak with him. he will tell you the same. the order was subtle, as her tone was not commanding in the slightest. more of an offhanded comment to entice the girl away from the border. if hosannah was to return to the rose wolves, she felt it necessary to do so in secret. this meant she had to coax the guard woman away. the grotto is my home— and as she said this, a dangerous glint caught in the warmth of her eyes, and she leveled a gaze filled with dark implications upon jhala, —and reek, he belongs to me. which meant his underlings were her underlings.

"I believe you," she said. She really did-- the girl often trusted everything she heard. Besides this woman's rude introduction, Jhala felt that she was less than qualified to protect a pack. To a girl who grew up knowing only to respect and to fight, Keksheph did not meet standards. Jhala towered over the woman. Although she was young, the other was small and petite. Despite being underfed, Jhala was large and muscular with little fat deposited anywhere. Even though she wanted nothing to do with the highest rank, Jhala felt even she would have made a better alphess.

Her ears perked gently in surprise. Did she think-- of all wolves-- that the yearling with absolutely no sexual knowledge wanted the grayed alpha? She couldn't help but snort. "Congrats?" she replied, her tail flicking. Growing impatient, Jhala looked back towards the border. "Look, I'm just tryna do my job. Can I go, your highness?" 

hosannah did not want reek in such a lewd manner. in fact, the thought of him in such a way had never crossed her mind. she admitted to owning him only because it gave her a sense of power, and she was emboldend by it. reek's soul belonged to her—and to raas—and this is why she makes mention of it. judging by the flippant response from this woman, she does not understand. but that is fine. let her remain ignorant, petulant even, because there would soon be a reckoning and they would, one way or another, find the light.

the girl let a long moment span between them. a purposeful pause. it was not up to this subordinate to decide when their audience with the seer would end, it was entirely up to hosannah; so she let the pause draw out until it became uncomfortable and quiet, and posed herself before the beta with her head angled in the manner of a queen. then, with a quiet but sweet voice that was entirely ill-fitting, she decided, yes, you may go. and then she watched for the woman's retreat.

The silence itself was uncomfortable, but Jhala was anything but. She stood with weight shifted to one side and her eyes half closed in an unhappy glare. This woman was not her leader, she was not her alpha, and she held no power over her. The only reason Jhala had remained so civil was to respect Reek's decision-- even though she disagreed whole-heartedly with it. This pack was going to hell, it seemed, with this woman as leader.

Without a thank you or any real acknowledgement, the dark beta turned and continued with her patrol-- the fur along her spine bristling slightly.